When Did My Life Get This Complicated?
by Cnerr
Summary: Arthur is supposed to marry Michelle so their two families will stop a century old feud. Arthur is okay with this till he meets her brother Francis. Fruk. Au
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: For this story Seychelles will be called Michelle and is France's sister. Also let me know if any language that I use happens to be incorrect and I will fix it. Tais-Toi=shut up and frère=brother. Review and tell me what you think.**

Arthur watched the changing scenery outside of the limousine while strumming his figures impatiently on his knee. He was almost tempted to tell the driver to speed up but he knew that even if he said anything the driver would just ignore him. He tried to calm his nerves by pulling on his sleeves. It was only a little while longer when he started to see the Bonnefoy estate. It was quite an extravagant place and he assumed it would only get more elegant the farther in. "Stupid frogs and their fancy buildings," he thought bitterly. When the limousine stopped at the mansion door Arthur adjusted his clothes once more before stepping out and walking towards the mansion. When he got to the door Arthur took a deep breath before entering inside the house.

Once inside Arthur could only gawk at the interior of the mansion. "_Monsieur_, if you would follow me." Arthur turned his head saw who he assumed was the butler. Arthur nodded and followed the butler while looked at the obviously expensive decorations. A while later they stopped outside of a door. "Wait here." The butler then disappeared into the room and reappeared a few seconds later. "_Maîtresse_ Michelle will see you now." Arthur mentally prepared himself and walked into the room. He noticed it had a much more simplified look then the rest of the mansion, and contained flowers throughout the room. Arthur noticed a young girl with tanned skin and had her brown hair into two ponytails sitting in a chair looking out the window.

"Hello Michelle, my name is Arthur Kirkland. It's pleasure to finally meet you." Michelle looked away from the window and smiled sweetly and said,

"I'm glad to have finally met you as well." Arthur sat in a chair across Michelle and was about to ask her what she was looking at outside when the door opened. Arthur looked over and saw a man and women enter the room. The man had a stern expression on his face with brown hair and eyes like Michelle while the women had a much more friendly expression on her face and had blond hair with blue eyes.

"I assume you're the man that is going to marry our little girl. My name is Genevieve and this is my husband Deandre." Arthur greeted the both of them and sat back down in his chair while they sat on a couch. Genevieve and Deandre started asking questions about Arthur's life and he answered them hoping he was making a good first impression.

After some time Arthur started to hear shouts and someone running toward the room. As he was wondering what was going on the door was thrown open by young man that looked a lot like Genevieve but with a beard. "I heard the guy that is supposed to marry Michelle is here! Where is he," he shouted. Arthur frowned and wondered who he was and what he wanted.

"That would be me," Arthur explained calmly.

The man looked at Arthur for a few seconds and said in a rude tone of voice, "There is no way that this man is going to marry Michelle. I will not allow this marriage."

Arthur angrily retorted, "Who are to say that Michelle and I can't marry?

"I happen to be Michelle's older brother Francis and I'm saying that you will have to find someone other person to marry." Francis then stood behind Michelle looking like he might attack Arthur if he tried anything. Arthur glared at Francis and wondered what he did to get this man so pissed at him.

"What is your problem with me marrying your sister," asked Arthur.

"Obviously you're not good enough to marry my little sister. I believe it's time for you to leave now since there is no further point in you being here."

"That is enough Francis! That is no way to treat a guest and a future member of this family," shouted Deandre before Arthur could get a chance to retort. Francis just mumbled something under his breath but didn't say anything showing that Deandre was not a person to mess with. After Deandre's outburst there were a few moments of awkward silence which consisted of Francis and Arthur having a stare off, Michelle staring at her hands with a blush on her face, Genevieve having a worried look on her face, and Deandre getting ready to attack the next person that made any trouble. The tension in the room was dispersed when there was a shy knock on the door.

"I heard yelling so I got concerned and came to see if everybody was alright." The voice belonged to someone that looked almost exactly like his younger brother.

"There is nothing to worry about Matthew. We were just getting acquainted with the man that claims he is going to marry our sister," said Francis pointing towards Arthur making Arthur shoot Francis a dark look.

"You agree with me that this marriage shouldn't happen. We obviously can't let this man marry our little sister." At this comment Deandre lost his temper once again.

"_Tais-toi_! This marriage is important for both of our families and if try to interfere you will be sorry."

While Deandre and Francis continued to argue Arthur glanced at the clock and saw that it was time for him to leave. Arthur apologized and announced that it was time for him to leave. Matthew asked if he could walk with him and Arthur accepted wondering what he wanted. On the way to the entrance of the mansion Matthew was very silent until they got to the door. "I know _frère_ can seem a bit rude sometimes but he's just looking out for Mitchell. He'll warm up to you eventually. You just have to give him time." Arthur just smiled and said goodbye to Matthew.

When Arthur walked out of the mansion the limousine was already waiting for him. "Punctual as usual," thought Arthur as got into the limousine. Without even greeting Arthur, the chauffeur started driving away but Arthur was used to the silence of the people that worked for his parents. When the limo pulled in the driveway of the Kirkland mansion he almost thought home-sweet-home, but Arthur didn't spend enough time there to even be able to call it that. The mansion was quiet for the moment, but Arthur knew that it wouldn't last long once his brothers found out he was home.

Arthur hadn't even walked inside yet when he heard Alfred yell, "Hey Peter! Arthur is back!" Arthur sighed realizing that the peace didn't last as long as he would have wanted it to. Arthur walked inside and saw Peter and Alfred running down the stairs to greet him.

"So was she hot?" Arthur rolled his eyes. Alfred didn't even bother saying hello before he started asking annoying questions.

"You can judge that for yourself because she's visiting tomorrow." Arthur started walking towards the kitchen to get a cup of tea.

"So did you meet her family? Was there any kids around my age?" This time it was Peter asking the questions with a slight gleam in his eye at the possibility of new friends.

"I met her family and there weren't any kids. There was just one polite boy about Alfred's age and a really annoying guy a little older than me." Arthur had managed to get a cup of tea ready and started to drink it but was interrupted again.

"So what was really annoying about this guy," asked Peter politely knowing his older brother would want to vent about it sometime soon. Trying to keep his voice as calm as possible, Arthur explained all the annoying points about Francis. "I mean what kind of guy looks at someone for 5 seconds and can decide whether they can or can't marry his sister!" Arthur was nearly shouting at this point finally releasing the anger that he kept bottled up.

"You should give him a chance. He might not be as bad as you think," said Alfred rather seriously. Arthur just stared at Alfred remembering Matthew had said the same thing as well. Arthur sighed and thought, "I guess I'll give Francis a second chance the next I see him."


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur had barely gotten any sleep when he was awoken by one of the servants. Without any explanation the servant just turned around and walked right out of the room. He looked at the clock and groaned when it read 3:27 A.M. "What the hell are my parents doing in coming home this early in the morning and summoning me," Arthur thought bitterly. Without even bothering to put clothes on, he started walking towards his dad's study where he assumed they were waiting for him.

Walking through the hallways at night always gave Arthur a panicked feeling. Ever since he was little the mansion and grounds had a sinister feeling to them like they were hiding something. After visiting the Bonnefoy estate he couldn't but help realize the two estates were complete opposites of each other. Bu he knew that the Bonnefoy family also had its dark side as well. They were just better at making it not so obvious. These thoughts were still running through Arthur's head as he entered his dad's study.

He was greeted by the stern expressions of his parents, but it wasn't like he was expecting a happy expression on either of their faces. "You wanted me," said Arthur not even bothering with saying hello. "We just heard that you and Francis had some disagreements when you met yesterday. We only wanted to remind you that this marriage is vital to the family and will proceed at all costs," said Arthur's father in a monotone voice that didn't portray any emotion. Arthur acknowledged his father's words with a slight nod and walked out of the room. He didn't want to spend any more time talking with his parents than necessary. He had always hated being near his parents which was why he wasn't home often. The only reason Arthur spent any time at the estate was to see Peter and Alfred. His last thought before falling asleep was him wondering what troubles Francis experienced at his home.

* * *

If he had his way, Arthur would have slept until it was absolutely necessary for him to get up. Unfortunately his brothers had a different idea in mind. "No fair Alfred! Give it back," whined Peter.

"Only after you admit that I'm a hero," said Alfred while laughing his head off. Arthur opened his door to see Alfred holding a stuffed bear while Peter was trying, and failing, to get it back. Knowing that yelling at them would only make them get even louder, Arthur just mumbled curses against his younger brothers. Noticing a maid he asked about the location of his parents. All he got in response was a shake of the maid's head indicating they weren't home.

"They didn't even bother to say hello to Alfred or Peter," he thought angry at his parents. Heading towards the kitchen, he noticed the usual breakfast already laid out for him on the kitchen table.

"So when's the chick coming over," asked Alfred as he pulled up a chair beside him.

"It's not very gentlemanly to call a lady a chick, and it's 12:00 if you must know," replied Arthur while rolling his eyes. When Peter joined them and started to eat he realized this is the first time that they ate together without their parents there.

As they ate breakfast Peter started to talk about some new friends that he made recently. Noticing that Alfred was tired Arthur couldn't resist teasing him. "You need to introduce me to your friend sometime soon. I want to meet this person that you keep on meeting late at night," he said with a sly grin on his face. Alfred's face immediately started to blush.

"I-I don't know who you're talking about," he said while turning an even darker shade of red. Arthur said nothing else and drank his tea knowing eventually he would learn who this special person in Alfred's life was.

At this moment the only employee of the house that even talked to Arthur walked in the kitchen. "I hate to interrupt you Master you need to start preparing for Michelle's visit," said Richard while looking at Arthur and Peter ganging up on a blushing Alfred. Arthur sighed and followed Richard up to his room. "May I ask what you did to get Alfred quiet and blushing like that sir? I don't think I've ever seen him like that before," asked Richard always curious about his young master's lives.

"Not much. We were just trying to find out who Alfred is dating but he won't tell us. Do you know Richard?" Richard just smiled and replied, "I'm afraid Alfred will have to tell you that himself. If I tell you he would get mad at me for spilling his secret." Arthur sighed knowing he wouldn't be able to get anything else out of Richard. The man good was quite good at keeping secrets when he wanted to. As they arrived at Arthur's room Richard suddenly made a very grave face. "When Master Alfred does tell you who he dating, I would advise you to support him no matter what. When they first started going out Alfred was so guilty that he almost ended the relationship. I know your parents wouldn't approve of the person that he is dating so Alfred will require your full support in the future." Arthur just nodded too shocked for words and slipped inside his room. Richard rarely talked as seriously as he just did, but when he did it was always of great importance. This only deepened the mystery for who his brother was dating. While mulling over this question he started to get dressed knowing Michelle could arrive at any second.

Right after he got his clothes on the bell rang. Knowing it was probably Michelle Arthur quickly started to walk towards the entrance. As soon as he got to the bottom of the stairs a random butler opened the door. When he went forward to greet Michelle, Arthur stopped when he saw who was behind her. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

France entered the mansion with a smirk on his face. "For your information Matthew and I are here to meet your family," said Francis with a sneer. Arthur just grumbled remembering that he promised himself to be nice to Francis.

"Hey is that the chick you're supposed to marry," asked Alfred as he ran down the stairs two steps at a time with Peter in tow. Arthur introduced everybody and invited Michelle to have some tea out in the pavilion. Peter decided to join them along with Francis who was determined to not let Michelle out of his sight. As they were drinking the tea Peter was talking animatedly to Michelle about the internet while Arthur shifted uncomfortably in his seat wondering what to do next. He hadn't expected for Francis to show up which ruined his plans for the rest of the day. He glanced at Francis and saw him staring at something in the distance ignoring what was going on around him. Then Francis turned to look at Arthur and showed briefly an emotion that confused him. However it was gone too quickly for Arthur to figure out what it was.

"So where are your parents? I would assume you would introduce us to them," said Francis back to his usual self. "My parents aren't home at the time. If you would like to meet them you might have to wait a while. They're rarely home," replied Arthur not thinking much about the absence of his parents.

"It must be hard not to see your parents often," said Michelle with a concerned look on her face. "Not really. I'm not home enough as it is to notice the difference anyways," he replied with a shrug. At an attempt to change the subject Peter suggested that they go out into the garden.

When they did get to the garden Peter dragged Michelle off to one of his favorite spots leaving Francis and Arthur alone. They started walking in the garden neither knowing what to say.

"I have a question for you. Why are you marrying _ma soeur_? What are you going to get out of this," asked Francis avoiding looking at Arthur.

"As you are probably aware of there was a need of a marriage between our two families. Your family only had Michelle as an option while my family had two, Alfred and me. When we were both told of the marriage I volunteered myself to the marriage," Arthur said deciding not to tell the entire story. Francis somehow noticed this and asked him why he volunteered in the first place. "It's because Alfred is already in love with someone." Noticing Francis's question glance Arthur decided to elaborate more. "It started a while ago, but Alfred started to act more out of it than usual. He always had this dreamy look on his face and was missing more often. Then one day I overheard him on the phone and figured out he was seeing someone. I don't know who but when I found out one of us would marry I didn't want Alfred have to split up with who he was seeing." After finishing his story Arthur was quite surprised of himself. He never told anyone this before but yet he was telling it to someone who completely hated his guts.

Francis looked at him with a sad expression on his face. "I thought you were just mindlessly following your parents orders. I guess I was wrong." The call for dinner came and Francis walked back to the mansion leaving a stunned Arthur behind him.

Alfred and Matthew didn't appear for dinner which worried Arthur knowing that Alfred never skipped a meal before. Seeing Richard, Arthur asked him he knew where they were. "I don't know where they are right now but they stopped by earlier to get dinner." Wondering where they were Arthur ate dinner silently while everyone else talked around him. When he did glance up he always noticed Francis staring at him making him feel uncomfortable.

After dinner was done it was time for Francis, Matthew and Michelle to go home, but Matthew was still missing. Just when they decided to go looking for him Alfred and Matthew finally showed up. "Where the bloody hell were you two? Next time you decide to go missing at least make sure you don't make other people late," yelled Arthur mostly at Alfred assuming him to be the real perpetrator.

"Don't yell at him. It was my fault for not saying we had to leave at a certain time," said Matthew so quiet he was barely heard. Francis just grabbed Matthew and left with Michelle after she tried to say goodbye to Arthur. It was only after a while that Arthur realized that the guests were gone. At this time Alfred decided to escape before Arthur could continue yelling at him. Noticing that Peter was already half asleep on the couch Arthur picked him up and put him in his bed. Knowing he wouldn't be able to get some sleep Arthur stared outside his window wondering if his life would ever be simple.

**A/N: ma soeur means sister. Try and guess who Alfred is going out with. I bet it's really obvious but hey I could be wrong. It took me longer to write this chapter than expected because of homework. But my teachers are starting to wind down for the year so I'll have more time to write. **


	3. Chapter 3

To Arthur the party was dreadfully boring. Of course the kink in his neck that he got from falling asleep against the window didn't help his mood at all. He was half tempted to skip the party but his parents insisted it was important for him to attend. So instead of talking to anyone else, he tried to make himself inconspicuous "_Konichiwa_ Arthur-san. I didn't expect to see you here."

He turned around and saw Kiku, the son of a prominent Japanese family. Arthur just smiled weakly and said hello. "I heard you're getting married but I understand it's an arranged marriage. Are you okay," said Kiku with concern in his voice.

"I'm alright. Thanks for asking," said Arthur glad at least somebody finally asked his opinion on the matter.

Before Kiku could reply a boy with short brown hair and a curl on the side of his head slammed into Kiku. "Veee~ Kiku! Who are you talking to," asked the boy. Kiku seemed flustered for a moment before introducing Arthur to the boy. "_Ciao_! My name is Feliciano! It's nice to meet you," said Feliciano with a cheery grin.

"Where are you going Feliciano," asked a tall blond coming towards them. Feliciano immediately let go of Kiku and hugged the taller man.

"I was just saying hi to Kiku, Ludwig." Ludwig sighed and unhooked Feliciano from him.

"Come on. We have to be there for the ceremony," he said in a gruff voice. Arthur gave a questioning glance at Kiku wondering what Ludwig was talking about.

"The Vargas and Beilschmidt families have a ceremony every once in a while signifying the friendship between them. That is the whole reason for this party Arthur-san," said Kiku a little concerned for his friend.

Arthur just smiled awkwardly realizing he never found out what the party was for. "Let's go and view the ceremony," said Arthur trying to cover up his previous embarrassment. They were going where the ceremony was taking place when he heard an oddly familiar voice. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw Francis talking to a man with white hair and red eyes. Arthur quickly ducked behind a nearby pillar. He hoped that Francis hadn't seen him especially in the crappy state that he was in right now. "Since when did I start caring what that bloody frog thought of me," he thought surprised at himself. He glanced at Francis and saw he was still talking to the man.

"Um… Arthur-san? What are you doing," asked Kiku staring at Arthur's odd behavior.

"See that man over there talking to the albino. He hates my guts since I'm marrying his sister. I was trying to avoid him seeing me," Arthur explained while pointing out Francis. Before Kiku could respond the ceremony started so they had to be quiet.

Arthur didn't pay attention to the ceremony at all. He kept glancing at Francis making sure he wasn't in his line of sight. After it was over he saw his parents beckoning him to come over to them. "We're going to introduce you to Gilbert Beilschmidt and Lovino Vargas. It is very important that you become friends with them as they are the heir to their families," said his mother in a very serious tone. He knew better than to disobey a direct order from his parents, so Arthur decided to obey them. His parents then attempted to introduce him to Lovino, but he was preoccupied with yelling at a laughing man with a Spanish accent. Arthur allowed himself a slight smile that his parent's plan didn't work out like they wanted. Undeterred, they steered him towards the albino that Francis was talking with earlier.

"Hello Gilbert. I would like for you to meet my son Arthur," said his mother sweetly. When Gilbert learned Arthur's name he started sneering.

"Hey! Why don't come to this party the awesome me is having," he said with a grin on his face that said he was up to something. Arthur was about to decline the offer when his parents said that he would come. He was about to argue with his parents when he saw the look they were giving him and decided against it. "Great! The party is at my place tomorrow at three. It isn't a formal party so you don't have to dress up. Well the awesome Gilbert has to go, _tschüss_," said Gilbert then ran off somewhere.

"Well it's getting late so we better go home," said Arthur's dad satisfied. This made Arthur furious at his parents. They were just using him to get closer to two influential families so they could further themselves. What was worse is that they knew that they could get away with it. Arthur remembered the last time when he openly defied his parents. He still had the scar from the incident. When they got into the limousine his parents had further instructions for him. "You will go to this party and become friends with Gilbert and his friends as they'll likely be members of important families," his father said in a commanding voice. Arthur could only nod still thinking about the past. When they got home, he went straight up to his room to get some sleep. Even though he was tired it took him a while before he managed to fall into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

He was sitting on a couch reading a book with the only light in the room coming from the fireplace. He felt a body slide right next to him and kiss him on the cheek. "What are you reading _mon cher_?" Arthur looked over and saw Francis sitting next to him. Arthur just smiled and kissed Francis back. "Well I was reading Sherlock Holmes, but something has seemed to distract me," he said with a purr. He then pulled Francis into a passionate kiss while playing with his hair. Francis then pushed Arthur onto the couch and started to undress him.

* * *

Arthur woke up with a start surprised at what he had just dreamt. Seeing that it was still light outside, he decided to take a walk to try and clear his head. While walking he tried to determine his true feelings for Francis. Arthur disliked him immensely but there were points about him that he liked. Then he thought back to his dream and blushed remembering what happened. "Just because I did those things doesn't mean I actually mean it right," he thought trying to convince himself his dream didn't mean anything. He sighed wondering what his true feelings for Francis were. "It doesn't matter what I feel about him anyways. He hates my guts," he thought bitterly. Arthur decided it would be for the best if he tried to avoid him as much as possible. As he was trying to figure out how he could do that, he remembered the party tomorrow. "Of course he'll be at his friend's party," he thought while mentally slapping himself. His parents were making him go to the party so he couldn't get out of it. He figured he would just have to try and avoid him at the party. While he was thinking of excuses to avoid Francis a little part of Arthur's mind was excited at the chance of seeing him tomorrow.

**A/N: tschüss=Goodbye. Again this took longer than I thought. I did write more this week, but most of it was spent on a project for English that took longer than expected. On the bright side I no longer have to do anything for school so yeah! Next chapter will be the party so look forward to it!**


	4. Chapter 4

When Arthur got back home he didn't know what to do. He was too anxious to sit in one place for long so he kept pacing back and forth with the same questions running through his mind. What were his parent plans, who was Alfred seeing, what his feeling for Francis were and more importantly what did Francis think of him. Deciding to get rid of some of his pent up energy, he decided to shoot some arrows. He walked outside to the shooting grounds and picked his favorite bow and grabbed a quiver full of arrows. He pulled back the string, aimed, and released with triumph as he hit his mark. Picking a different target each time, he shot until he had no arrows left. He grabbed a new quiver and continued to do this even when a servant told him it was dinner time. Only when it was too dark to see did he finally stop. When he stopped he realized how hungry he was so went down to the kitchen to get a bite to eat.

On the way there he overheard Alfred talking on the telephone. Curious as to what they were talking about, he put his ear to the door. "It will be better if we just tell our parents right away. Somebody is going to find out sooner or later. I feel that they would be more lenient if we told them instead of them finding out on their own. Alright. I'll give you some time to think about it. And hey, what is the worst my parents can do when they find out." Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, Arthur continued to the kitchen.

He found a plate of food laid out for him with a cup of tea which he figured Richard left out for him. After he finished eating he decided to go talk to Richard. He found him in the liberty reading a book to Peter. Rather than interrupt him he was content with listening to Richard read. After a while Richard stopped reading and waved Arthur over. "What is that you wanted young Master," Richard asked in a knowing voice. Seeing that Peter was asleep, Arthur decided to fulfill the reason he came there in the first place.

"I wanted to know if you knew what my parents are planning," he asked in a firm voice. Richard sighed and took off his glasses.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you the full details because I don't know them myself. But from what I can tell they're planning something big. Not only have they been trying to get closer to important families but they've been seeing important politicians as well. My guess is there trying to increase their power of influence. What they're planning to do with this I can't say. I do have one piece of advice for you though. If your parents try to get you to do something that is against your morals, don't do it no matter the consequence. I advise you to get some sleep. You have a long day ahead of you." Richard then picked up Peter and carried him off leaving Arthur with his brow furrowed thinking furiously. After a while he decided to follow Richard's advice and go to bed. When he got to bed Arthur fell into a dreamless asleep exhausted by the day's events.

* * *

Alfred was sitting in Arthur's room claiming that he was trying to help his older brother. Arthur believed he was just trying to get him mad. "All you have is suits and stupid sweater vests. Don't you have anything good in that closet of yours," whined Alfred.

Arthur threw a shirt at Alfred's head. "If you're going to complain so much then go away," he growled losing his patience.

"I'm here because I don't want my big brother looking like a fool showing up to a party with a sweater vest," said Alfred while pushing Arthur to the side to get a better look at his closet. Alfred picked a shirt and pants and threw them at Arthur. "Here, put these on and we'll see if you don't look like an idiot."

Arthur just grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom to change. When he got back out Alfred inspected him. "Unbutton the top buttons on the shirt and take off the belt and you should be fine," said Alfred. After doing what he said Arthur fidgeted around until Alfred asked what his problem was.

"I just feel too casual," Arthur said while looking at himself in the mirror. Alfred groaned and hit his head off the wall.

"You're supposed to be casual; you're going to a party. Haven't you ever been to a party before," he asked wondering what was wrong with his brother.

"I've been to parties before just none like this," Arthur replied. "Well you're just going have to wing it I guess," Alfred said while hitting Arthur a little too hard on the back. Arthur had actually been to quite a few parties and he wondered slightly why he was anxious about this one. "It's because he's going to be there," he thought to himself. Oblivious to his older brother's spacing out; Alfred continued to give his advice to Arthur.

"The party starts at three but we want to be a little later that. We should probably take the Ferrari and not the limousine so we look cooler," said Alfred before he was interrupted.

"What do you mean by we," Arthur asked with tension in his voice.

"Of course I'm coming to the party. The hero has to be there to save you in case you get in any trouble. And this Gilbert guy sounds like he can throw a cool party so I want to go," said Alfred with a tone showing he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Fine. Just leave me alone while you're there," said Arthur.

* * *

Alfred was going to drive, but he was kicked out by Arthur saying that he actually wanted to make it to the party in one piece. While they were driving Arthur took the chance to ask a question that he had wanted to ask for some time. "Are you going to tell me who you've been dating or do you plan on keeping it a secret," he asked while looking at Alfred out the corner of his eyes.

Alfred tilted his head to the side where Arthur couldn't see his face before he answered. "I'm sorry but I just can't tell you yet. I will tell you someday so don't worry," he said lacking his usual cheeriness. Deciding that it would be best to drop the conversation, Arthur let the rest of the trip remain silent.

When they got to the Beilschmidt manor they could hear music playing behind the mansion which led them to the actual party. Arthur was surprised to see that the party was smaller than he originally thought it would be. It looked, to him, that only Gilbert's personal friends were there which made him even more curious to why he was invited. Just about when he was wondering what to do, Gilbert saw them and walked over to them with a girl in tow. "I didn't expect you to bring a friend, which is cool because then there are more people here," said Gilbert with his cocky grin.

"What's up! My name is Alfred and I'm his brother," said Alfred while grinning back.

"This is my girlfriend Elizabeta. The guy with the eyebrows is Francis's friend that we were talking about earlier," Gilbert said with air quotes around the friend.

Before Arthur could complain about being labeled as Francis's friend he was interrupted by a squeal. "You two are going to be perfect together. Make sure they don't meet till I get my camera," said Elizabeta as she ran off to the mansion. Arthur just stood there, slowly realizing why Gilbert invited him to the party in the first place.

"While Elizabeta is getting her camera I'll introduce you to some other people here," said Gilbert. While walking with Gilbert, Arthur learned that the guy Lovino was yelling at earlier was Antonio. He also saw Ludwig, Feliciano and Lovino there as well. "Hey Roderich, where's your boyfriend Vash?" Arthur turned around and saw Gilbert talking to a man with chocolate brown hair and glasses.

"H-he's not my boyfriend," Roderich stuttered with a blush creeping up on his face.

"So you haven't gotten the nerve to ask him out yet. If you wait any longer Elizabeta might get impatient and set you two up on your own," Gilbert said with a smirk on his face. Before Roderich could retort Elizabeta appeared with her camera in her hand.

"Go and get Francis. I want to take pictures of these two as soon as possible," said Elizabeta jumping up and down with excitement.

Before Arthur could complain Gilbert already ran off to get Francis. He tried to run away but Alfred grabbed a hold of him to stop him. "Let go of me you git," said Arthur trying to get out of Alfred's grip afraid of what was going to happen. "No way! I want to see what's going to happen," said Alfred while laughing his head off.

"What is it that you wanted to show me, Gilbert." Arthur froze when he heard the voice and instantly recognizing it as Francis's. When Francis came into view he had a look of shock on his face. "What is Arthur doing here," asked Francis in a tone of disbelief. He didn't get his answer as Alfred pushed Arthur into Francis. Francis reflexively caught Arthur and then Elizabeta instantly took a picture of the scene before her. Arthur pushed himself out of Francis grasp and immediately started yelling at Alfred.

"Why the bloody hell did you do that," he shouted at Alfred. Alfred just laughed at his brother's obvious embarrassment. At the same time Francis was arguing with Gilbert.

"When did you invite him here and why didn't you tell me," he asked Gilbert with a slight blush on his face.

"Because I thought it would be nice to invite your boyfriend to my party," said Gilbert with a sneer on his face.

"We are not dating," shouted Francis and Arthur at the same time.

"Relax you two it was just a joke," said Gilbert with a face that said otherwise. Arthur just simmered wondering if he should go home even though his parents were making him stay. "Well now that's over with the beer and food are over there. If you need anything just find me," said Gilbert while walking away with Alfred probably planning something devious. Arthur walked over to the beer and took one. While he was drinking it Feliciano came over to him.

"Hey! Your Kiku's friend Arthur! Want to play a game with us," asked Feliciano sweetly. Arthur just nodded and followed Feliciano figuring he could at least try to be social.

* * *

After playing the game for a couple of hours, Arthur was feeling a bit tipsy. But what else would you expect from playing a drinking game and his low tolerance of alcohol. Deciding it would be best if he wasn't standing, he sat down on bench. After a while Gilbert came towards with his massive grin that Arthur started to label as trouble. "Everybody is gathering to play a game and you need to join us," said Gilbert not giving Arthur a chance to say no as he dragged him towards where everybody was standing.

"Now that everybody is here it's time to explain the game. We're going to have a treasure hunt," shouted Gilbert as if it was the most awesome idea ever. Arthur frowned wondering where Gilbert was going with this.

"Everybody will split up into pairs and have an item to find," chimed in Elizabeta. Arthur then figured out where they were going with this.

"The teams have already been chosen. The teams are: Ludwig and Feliciano, Antonio and Lovino, Gilbert and Elizabeta, Francis and Arthur, and I'm with Roderich," said Alfred with a cheery grin on his face.

The only thing Arthur could do was give the traitor a death glare. He then noticed the three of them smiling in his direction which creeped him out. Everybody went with their partner and given slips of paper with what they were supposed to find. "The first person to find their prize gets an awesome award," shouted Gilbert as the teams went off to search for their items. Arthur looked down at his paper and saw that they had to find an acacia flower.

"It would be in the garden," said Francis as he was reading over Arthur's shoulder. Still embarrassed about earlier, Arthur just nodded and followed Francis towards the garden.

After they've been walking for a while it finally hit him how dangerous of a situation he was in. He was alone with a guy that he might have feelings for and he was drunk. He learned from experience that when he was drunk his behavior was erratic. Hoping to avoid a catastrophe, Arthur was a bit anxious to find the flower and be done with the treasure hunt. "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. Gilbert is a bit of a practical joker and likes to play tricks like that," said Francis breaking the silence of the garden.

"I get it. My brother is the same way," said Arthur trying not to say too much. After this there was more silence as they both looked for the flower.

Arthur then saw the flower and picked it. Just as he was walking over to Francis to tell him that he found it, he tripped over a rock. Francis then caught Arthur for the second time that night. "Are you okay," asked Francis with concern in his voice. Arthur was never able to figure out what prompted him to do what he did and probably never will. When he looked up at Francis he kissed him. While he kissed him a million thoughts of what Francis would do ran through his head but he never expected what happened next. Francis pulled Arthur closer to him and kissed him back.

After they broke their kiss each of them stood there, neither knowing what to say. Just as Francis was going to say something they were interrupted by Elizabeta. "Shoot! I already missed it," she pouted. Francis and Arthur both turned around and saw her with her camera in her hand. Arthur's face started to turn a bright shade of red and wanted to disappear.

"Everybody is going inside so it's best that we do as well," said Elizabeta still disappointed that she missed the show. She then followed Arthur and Francis on the way back with her camera ready hoping that something else might happen.

When they got into the mansion Elizabeta ran off presumably to tell Gilbert and Alfred what happened. They were than noticed by Antonio who called them over towards where everyone else was watching TV. Arthur and Francis then sat awkwardly next to each other not being able to say what they really wanted to say with everyone else around.

* * *

When everybody else was going to home Arthur was shouting stuff about unicorns while a slightly drunk Alfred watched him. "Who let Arthur near the alcohol should have to deal with him," said Alfred slightly wishing his brother didn't act so crazy when he got drunk. He then sighed realizing none of them would be able to drive themselves home tonight. "Hey Gilbert! Mind if we crash at your place tonight," said Alfred showing how tired he was. Gilbert didn't even skip a beat before he said it was okay. Alfred and Gilbert then tried to carry Arthur upstairs to a guest bedroom, but failed because they were both too drunk. Francis then walked in the room and offered to do it himself.

While being carried up the stairs Arthur mumbled stuff about not letting the fairies get any beer. After Francis managed to drag him up the stairs and situate him under the covers, he fell asleep. Smiling at the sleeping Arthur, Francis kissed him on the forehead. "_Rêves doux_," Francis whispered. He then closed the door leaving Arthur to sleep.

**A/N: Rêves doux means sweet dreams. I managed to write this entire chapter in one day so I'm proud of myself. This chapter is longer so I hope it makes up for last chapter not being that good. Fun fact: the acacia can represent concealed love which is the reason I chose it for their item to find. This chapter also shows you some of the other pairings that I like. They won't really show up that much in the story if at all.**


	5. Chapter 5

When Arthur woke up next morning he instantly wished that he hadn't. With his hangover it took all of his willpower to get out of bed and walk down the stairs. Seeing Alfred in the living room watching TV, he decided to find out how crazy he got last night. He sat next to Alfred and while massaging his head he asked, "What happened when I got really drunk?" Alfred seemed to think a while before he answered.

"You tried to molest Feliciano, so Ludwig got mad and left with Feliciano, Elizabeta got you to wear a dress, she also took some pictures which are probably all over the internet, and you also skinny dipped in the pool," said Alfred while counting of with his fingers. Arthur gaped at Alfred not knowing what to say. After a few seconds Alfred grinned and started laughing. "I got you! You really thought you did all those things!"

Arthur then started chasing Alfred while yelling profanities at him. Curious about the noise, Francis and Gilbert walked into the living room. Instead of intervening they watched the scene in front of them with amused looks on their faces. After a while Gilbert got bored and yelled, "Will you stop fighting in my house!" Arthur stopped running and clutched his head as Gilbert's loud voice brought back his hangover.

When he was about to yell back at Gilbert he noticed Francis standing beside him. They briefly made eye contact before Arthur broke it off blushing. He wanted to say something to Francis but didn't know exactly what. Desperate to say something he managed a weak hello. Francis replied with a _bonjour_. To Arthur it seemed that Francis was as nervous as himself.

"You don't look too well. I guess you might have had a little too much to drink yesterday," said Gilbert while poking Arthur's head.

"I would have never figured that out from the fact that he was talking about unicorns and fairies like they were real," said Alfred sarcastically while rolling his eyes. Arthur was about to argue with Alfred about his last statement but decided against it. When he talked about magical creatures like they actually existed, he always got strange looks.

"How about I cook some breakfast so Arthur can go home and get some rest before my sister visits," suggested Francis as he was walking towards the kitchen. Arthur smacked himself on the head. He had completely forgotten that Michelle was supposed to come over today.

"Why is your sister coming over to his house," Gilbert asked Francis with confusion painted all over his face.

"They're going to get married. Didn't I already tell you this," sighed Francis as he continued gathering ingredients.

"You didn't tell me at all," said Gilbert barely above a whisper.

"I don't see what the big problem is," replied Francis while his expression was hidden by his hair. While Francis cooked, Arthur sat on the couch to watch the TV. It was some stupid reality show but he didn't care enough to change the channel. His eyes were on the screen in front of him but his head was somewhere else entirely. He was thinking about what to do about Francis.

During the party he had forgotten that he was engaged to Michelle so he acted differently then he should have. He was also confused if he should take action with his feelings for Francis. He had kissed him, but he was engaged to marry his sister. The world was saying that he couldn't be with Francis and his heart was telling him to screw the world. While waiting for Francis to finish cooking he pondered on which one he should listen to.

* * *

Breakfast was eaten in silence with nobody knowing what to say. Arthur ignored everyone else while eating, furiously trying to think with his headache. Because he was concentrating so hard he didn't hear what Alfred asked. "I said I'm going to drive. I wouldn't feel safe if someone with a hangover drove me home." Arthur just nodded while coming back to reality. As they were getting ready to leave Arthur kept glancing at Francis hoping he would be able to see him soon.

"I need to stop thinking about him. A relationship with him is impossible," he told himself. While he was telling himself that a little part of his mind wondering if that was really true.

While they walked to the car, Gilbert said his farewell to Arthur and Alfred. "Come back sometime soon. It was fun hanging out with you guys." Arthur told him that he would. For a second he wondered if by saying he would come back if he was following his parents orders or thinking for himself. Shaking the thoughts out of his head he got into the passenger's seat allowing himself one more look at Francis before they started to leave.

* * *

Arthur was expecting Alfred to start questioning him the moment they got in to the car. Contrary to his belief Alfred was quiet on the way back. It wasn't until they were close to home that Alfred finally spoke. "I won't tell anybody about what happened when we were at Gilbert's place. It's up to you to tell Peter and Richard if you want," he said with a look of understanding on his face. Arthur was speechless at what he had said. "It's almost like he understands what I'm going through," he thought. Then it hit him.

"You're dating a guy," Arthur said barely loud enough to be heard. A look of surprise appeared on Alfred's face. At first it seemed like he would deny it but after seeing how serious Arthur was he decided against it.

"You're right. I think you can see now why I wanted to keep it a secret. I also can't stress enough how important it is that our parents don't find about what happened at the party. If they were to find out I don't want to think about what would happen."

As they got near to the mansion they both fell silent. Arthur noticed that his parent's car was gone and let out a sigh of relief. Facing his parents when he was still confused about what he was going to do was undesirable. Once they pulled into the garage he told Alfred he would be up in his room. He walked quickly not wanting to see the piercing gazes of the staff reminding him of the control his parents had over him.

Once up in his room he slid down to the floor and put his head in his hands. He didn't know how long he stayed there before there was a knock on the door. "May I come in Master?" Hearing that it was Richard he muttered a yes. Richard walked in and saw his master on the floor looking depressed. "What happened? I tried to get the details from Alfred but he said to ask you first," said Richard letting the concern come out in his voice.

At first Arthur was about to tell Richard he couldn't say but he stopped himself. What he needed more than anything right now was advice. "I kissed him. That's what happened. Of all the people it had to be him."

"Who did you kiss," said Richard while kneeling down to Arthur.

"I kissed Francis. When it happened I forgot that I was engaged to his sister. I don't know what to do," said Arthur. He pulled his head out of his hands to look at Richard for help.

Seeing that Arthur was dealing with inner turmoil, Richard decided to nudge him in the right direction. "The only thing I can say is that your parent's orders shouldn't rule your life. Sometimes you have to make your own decisions." Arthur thought about Richard's words and realized that this was the same thing he had been thinking about. Hearing it from Richard reinforced his earlier thoughts of disobeying his parents.

"Michelle will be coming soon. Although it may be your parent's orders it would be rude to not entertain her. If you need anything else all you have to do is ask," said Richard. He then left Arthur to his own thoughts. As the door was closing Arthur was starting to get ready. Although he would see Michelle he had no desire to listen to his parents anymore. He would do what he wanted and loved who he loved. No longer would they control his every move. The first thing that he would do is tell Michelle that he wouldn't marry her.

**A/N: I would have gotten this chapter up much sooner but I was in Disney World for a week so I didn't have time to write. Some of you might find this amusing. In Epcot there is the world showcase with different countries. France and the UK are right next to each other. I just found that completely ironic but I was sad that there was no Russia. **T_T **I promise the next chapter will come up much faster than this one did. I would also like to hear what people think of my story so review please. **


	6. Chapter 6

Pacing back and forth, Arthur was full of adrenaline. He was finally going to defy his parents again. This time, however, he wouldn't run away like a dog with his tail beneath his legs. Any thoughts of what his parents could do to him were quickly pushed out of his mind. The sound of a car pulling up near the mansion drew Arthur towards the door. Bouncing with energy, he began to feel a little sorry for Michelle. "I just hope she doesn't take me breaking of the engagement in a bad way," he thought.

The door opened and Arthur was about to greet Michelle when he paused, seeing something unexpected. Walking in behind Michelle was Francis, the last person he expected to see walk through his doorway.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. But Francis insisted to come along," apologized Michelle. Arthur replied that it was alright while he tried to formulate what he was going to do. He still planned on breaking off the engagement, but having Francis there put a wrench in his plan.

"Lunch is served," Arthur heard a random servant say. Smiling, Arthur invited both Francis and Michelle to lunch. While walking towards the dining room he began formulating a way to break off the engagement with Francis around. His thoughts were cut off when he felt a piece of paper slip into his right hand.

"Don't do anything stupid until you read the note," Francis whispered so he was only audible to Arthur. Shooting a questioning glance at Francis, Arthur wondered what was considered stupid. In the end, Arthur just decided to not do anything too drastic.

As they began eating, he tried to read the note Francis gave to him. Before he even took it out of his pocket he noticed the stare of one of the servants. "So they're going to be spying on me the entire time Michelle was here," he thought, "I can't wait until Francis and Michelle are gone to read the note because it might be urgent. Going into my room when I have guests is too suspicious. Where can I go to read the note without my parents finding out about it?"

After a while it became clear to him where he could go. Excusing himself from the table, Arthur started walking towards the bathroom. After closing and locking the door he got the note out of his pocket and started reading it.

_Don't do anything to get your parents suspicious of what happened last night. Tonight at midnight sneak out and wait for me at the big willow tree on your estate. I have some things that we need to talk about. _

Arthur reread the message until he was sure he got it memorized, ripped it up and flushed it down the toilet. "It seems like I'll have to wait a little longer to break off the engagement with Michelle," he muttered to himself.

As he sat down back into his seat Arthur looked at Francis with an expression he hoped conveyed "this better be good." Turning to Michelle, he talked to her like he hadn't been thinking about breaking off their engagement. After lunch Michelle had to leave for an important party. Arthur gladly sent her off since the whole reason he was excited for their meeting was gone. After they left he went off the library to kill some time before he had to meet Francis. Picking a book at random, he selected a book about pirates.

As he started to read, he became jealous of the simple life that pirates led. "They didn't have to worry about fiancés, parents, and an annoying Frenchman that kept invading their thoughts." Sighing he closed the book. Not even realizing it his thoughts had landed on Francis again. He started yawning and realized how tired he really was. Thinking he would only rest his eyes for a little while, it wasn't long until he fell asleep.

* * *

"Wake up Arthur. I'm bored so play with me." Arthur opened his eyes and saw Peter right in front of his face. "What time is it," he asked while rubbing his eyes. "It's time for you to play with me. So get off your lazy butt and play power rangers with me," whined Peter not willing to take no for an answer. Looking outside Arthur saw that it was still light outside. He let out a sigh of relief knowing that he didn't miss his meeting with Francis. Peter started pulling at Arthur's hand trying to get him out of the seat.

"Alright, I'll play with you. Just stop pulling on my hand so hard," said Arthur deciding he could at least waste some time playing with Peter. Thinking he would have to play with Peter for a while, Arthur was surprised when Peter started getting tired. "Time for bed," Arthur said to a yawning Peter. Peter was about to protest but was cut off by another yawn.

"We haven't finished playing though," Peter mumbled. Arthur just smiled at his younger brother and told him he would play with him tomorrow. Arthur followed Peter inside the mansion until he was sure that Peter was going to bed and not eating sweets so he could stay up all night.

While walking into the kitchen to get something to eat he noticed that the chefs were no longer there. Instead of cooking something himself he just grabbed some apples and headed up to his room.

Upon entering the room he noticed Peter on his bed curled up in a ball. "What's the matter Peter," asked Arthur. Peter looked up and Arthur noticed a tear run down his face.

"Mommy and Daddy said I couldn't be friends with Samantha because she wasn't part of a rich family," Peter said with even more tears running down his face.

"What gives them the right to tell Peter who he can and can't be friends with," Arthur thought angrily. He was about to tell Peter that he doesn't have to listen to their parents when he stopped himself. He had forgotten that Peter couldn't easily disobey their parents as he could. He was still just a kid, so he couldn't understand that sometimes their parents were wrong. Arthur also didn't want him to suffer the punishments that would surely happen if he disobeyed them. In the end all Arthur could do was hold Peter as he cried himself to sleep.

* * *

It was 11:51 when Arthur started to leave his room. He checked on Peter one last time making sure he was sound asleep. He didn't want Peter to wake up when he was gone and tell his parents that he was gone. Arthur started climbing out the window and used gaps in the stonework to make it down the wall. The moon was only crescent so he had to be very careful when finding his next foot holds. About halfway down he started hearing footsteps below him.

Arthur instantly froze hoping whoever was below him didn't look up. Looking down, he saw the person continue to walk way and disappear on the other side of the mansion. Arthur continued to climb down the wall being extra careful that he was silent as possible.

When he made it to the ground, Arthur checked both ways before running towards the willow tree making use of the shadows and the lack of a moon to hide himself.

Once the willow tree came into view he hurried up to make it under the coverage that the willow provided. After checking that he hadn't been followed, Arthur climbed the tree into one of his favorite spots and waited for Francis to show up.

It wasn't long before he saw Francis make his way to the willow tree. Dropping out of the tree, he crossed his arms and waited for Francis to speak first. "What are you wearing," asked Francis referring to Arthur's green cloak.

"A cloak I where often for medieval festivals. I wore it tonight because it's useful for camouflage," replied Arthur while shrugging.

"Leave it here unless you want to walk around looking like an idiot with that on." Arthur raised an eyebrow at learning that they weren't staying at the tree. "I'm not going to talk to on a serious matter with hushed tones around an old tree," said Francis with a slight mocking tone. Arthur just shrugged off the cloak, deciding to see what Francis had planned.

Francis then started walking towards the direction he came and Arthur, curious to where they were going, followed him. When they got to the hedge that surrounded the mansion, he gasped in surprise as Francis pulled aside some branches to reveal a hole in the hedge. He wondered how Francis learned about the exit that he had created with Peter and Alfred when they were kids. Deciding that questions could wait, he climbed through the hole and came out in the nearby park.

Once they were a couple blocks from the house Arthur started asking Francis the questions that had been on his mind. "Before we talk about what you wanted to, you have some questions to answer. First, how did you know about the hole in the hedge, that we would be obscured from sight near the willow tree, and where are we going," asked Arthur in rapid succession.

"For the first two you have Alfred to thank. After you passed out from drinking too much, I expressed my desire to talk to you later to him. He informed me of where we could meet and how I could get in the estate without being seen. To answer your last question, on the way here I thought that a willow tree didn't provide the mood that I wanted," replied Francis as he turned around and winked at Arthur. Still wondering where they were going, Arthur was content with following Francis.

It was a few minutes later when they got to a hiking trail. Even more confused of where their destination was, Arthur kept silent and enjoyed hiking through the woods. Ever since he was little, he always enjoyed being outside. As the lights from the street left no longer reached them, Francis grabbed Arthur's hand so they wouldn't get separated. Although it was dark, it seemed to Arthur that Francis knew exactly where he was going. After a series of twists and turns, they finally made it to their destination.

Arthur admired the view in front of him. They were at a simple cliff with some trees and a flat place to sit on. What took his breath away was that from where he stood he could see the entire city from where he stood. Arthur enjoyed the city at night and temporarily forgot why he came there in the first place.

"It's beautiful isn't it," asked Francis while he sat down. Arthur nodded and sat next to Francis enjoying the rare peace that surrounded him. After a few moments, Francis started to speak. "I brought you here so I could speak without anyone else listening in on our conversation." He grabbed both of Arthur's hand and looked him into the eyes as he continued to speak. "I've wanted to say this to you for a long time. _Je t'aime _Arthur."

Arthur didn't know what to say in response to his confession. So instead of responding with words, he responded by kissing Francis. Francis deepened the kiss and let go of Arthur's hands to cup his face. Now with his hands free, Arthur threw his arms around his neck and tried to show with the kiss what he couldn't with words.

When they broke the kiss, Arthur was finally able to say he wanted. "I love you Francis." Arthur leaned in for another kiss, but Francis stopped him.

"Wait. I haven't told you all that I have planned on talking about." Arthur nodded and untangled himself from Francis and waited for him to continue. "I know you want to, but you can't break up with my sister just yet. From what your brother told me, your parents wouldn't take it lightly and most likely punish you. It's not complete but I'm thinking of a plan to convince both of our families that a marriage between you two wouldn't be necessary. You just have to be patient and wait until the opportune time."

Arthur laughed and slowly shook his head back and forth. "There's nothing that you can do to convince my parents to drop this marriage. Once they have their minds set on something they do anything to achieve their goals," he said bitterly.

"I'm not asking for you to not to break up with my sister. I'm just requesting some time that's all," said Francis.

Arthur decided to humor Francis by agreeing to the plan. In his mind though, he had no hopes for any plan that Francis had thought up.

* * *

Back at the willow tree, Arthur put on his cloak and turned to face Francis. "When will I see you again," he asked silently wishing it would be soon.

Francis just smiled and replied, "Fate will have to decide that one for us." After giving Arthur a quick farewell kiss, he turned around and walked towards the secret exit. As Arthur was walking back towards his room, he hoped fate would be kind to him for once.

**A/N: I don't have much to say expect last chapter may have made you think that the story was almost over. If it wasn't apparent already I will let you know that this story isn't near its end. Review please.**


	7. Chapter 7

A week went by, but it all seemed like a blur to Arthur. Nobody had visited him during that time so he was left mostly to himself. During his week of solitude his thoughts mostly rested on Francis. He felt like a lovesick puppy and according to Alfred it was pretty obvious. This lovesick puppy was missing one thing though, Francis. During the entire week he hadn't heard anything from him.

Arthur decided he would solve this problem by going to visit Francis. He was now standing near the wall that showed the boundaries of the Bonnefoy estate wondering how much of an idiot he was.

"You thought, hey wouldn't it be great to visit Francis. So you rushed all the way over without thinking up a plan. Now you're standing outside out here looking like some stalker," he mumbled while getting strange looks from passerby. He had no idea what to do or any information about the location of Francis. Even if he was in the mansion he had no idea where his room was.

Arthur noticed it was getting dark and decided it was now or never if he wanted to get in. Wanting to keep the visit a secret, the regular entrance was out of the question. The wall was made of stone so a secret entrance was unlikely. That was when Arthur spotted a tree with a branch that extended to the other side of the wall.

Checking that nobody was watching, he climbed up the tree. He got to the branch, and crawled across it until he got to the end. Once he got to the end he lowered himself and let go. When he got to the ground he rolled and landed on his feet. "Now to go and find his room."

Looking at the windows, he hoped to see a hint that one of them was his room_. _That's when he heard the singing._"Moi je t'offrirai des perles de pluie venues de pays où il ne pleut pas je creuserai la terre jusqu'après ma mort." _ Thinking the voice was oddly familiar, he followed the singing. When got to the window the sound was coming out of Arthur recognized the singing as Francis's.

He noticed a vine that reached up to the window and started climbing up it. "It will be just like in the fairytales," he thought, a little amused at the situation he had gotten himself in. When he reached the window Francis wasn't in sight. Just as Arthur was beginning to wonder where Francis was, he came out of the bathroom. With only a towel on. Arthur's face began to heat up and he wished he would have come just a little later.

"What are you doing there," Francis calmly asked.

"I was coming to visit you but if you're busy I can come another time." Arthur had started lowering himself to hide his embarrassment.

"I'm not busy. Come on in."

"After you put some clothes on," Arthur said in a very small voice.

Francis chuckled. "I will if it makes you uncomfortable. But if you ask me you're missing out on an amazing sight." Arthur felt his blush deepen as he climbed into Francis's room.

While Francis got his clothes, he made a closer inspection of the room. It was large, but the decorations made the room seem cozy as well. He glanced over at Francis and saw him taking off his towel. "W-what are you doing!"

"I'm getting dressed like you wanted me to."

"Not in front of me!" Francis just laughed and went in his bathroom to change. Arthur sat on Francis's bed feeling extremely awkward. He had no idea what to do now that he was here with Francis. Deciding to look around the room for inspiration he opened up the drawer in the bed stand. In the drawer there was some condoms and lube. He quickly closed the drawer and went back to the bed. "That would be a bad idea. I don't want this to end up like my past relationships," he thought. The bathroom door opened and Francis came out with his clothes on.

"Is there a specific reason you came to visit me in the night through my window," Francis asked while walking over to sit next to Arthur.

"It's been a week since we last seen each other and I just wanted to see you." Francis smiled and kissed Arthur on the cheek.

"I would have visited you myself earlier, but I haven't had any free time. So what is that you want to do? If you would have come earlier I would have suggested going out on a date. We could watch a movie or would you prefer to do something else?" Francis indicated what he meant by something else by going for Arthur's butt.

Arthur stopped Francis's hand and said, "A movie would be fine."

Francis smiled as if he knew this would be the answer all along. "I have the perfect movie to watch. Stay here while I go and get it."

* * *

Francis and Arthur watched the movie snuggling at the end of the bed with a blanket over both of them. They movie might as well haven't even been on, because they barely watched it. They spent most of the time cuddling with each other and talking. Arthur talked about the time when he disobeyed his parents and how he went to college and mostly partied instead of going to actual class. He even showed him the scar on his back that he got when his father threw a sword at him in rage.

Arthur was surprised that he revealed so much of himself to Francis. Very few people knew of the scar on his back and only his family knew the meaning of it. He hadn't even told his brother's what he did while he was away. Yet here he was, spilling all of his secrets to a man that he only recently met.

The talking wasn't one sided though. Francis talked about when he first started dating and how the only reason anyone dated him was so they could have sex. So after a few years of that he just gave up on dating and had one night stands. Arthur was apparently the first person he actually dated for quite a while. After hearing this Arthur was happy to know how special he was to Francis. He had earlier been worried that he was just another face to Francis, but now he no longer had a reason to. That's when Arthur decided to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"When did you start loving me? I know you might find that question really weird, but when we first met you hated me. So I was just curious when did love turn to hate?" Francis was silent for a while as if he was thinking about how to answer the question.

"This might seem weird to you, but I loved you the moment I saw you. I didn't want you to marry my sister because I wanted you for myself. I acted like I hated you so I could have a reason for you not marry my sister. Since that didn't succeed I tried to bury my feelings for you. When you kissed me in the garden I forgot that I couldn't have you so I kissed you back." They both sat in silence while the movie played in the background.

When Arthur found the voice to speak again he smiled at Francis and asked, "Is it your job to make me speechless?"

"It's more like a gift," Francis replied, "Now I have a question for you. Why did you kiss me in the garden?"

Arthur was caught off guard by the question. It was the same question that he had been asking himself for a while. "I guess you could blame it on me being drunk or the mood your friends were creating earlier about us being together. I think the reason I kissed you was because I wanted to find about my true feelings for you. Of course while I kissed you I was thinking about how stupid I was because I feared you would reject me. The last thing I expected was for you to kiss me back."

"I guess it's my turn to be speechless." Francis and Arthur both started laughing. They watched the rest of the movie in silence in each other's arms.

Near the end of the movie Arthur started yawning and had trouble keeping his eyes open. "Looks like you're getting tired. Why don't you sleep here tonight," asked Francis while he kissed the top of Arthur's head. Arthur nodded too tired to remember that nobody knew he was here. Francis gave him some pajamas and he went to the bathroom to change and brush his teeth.

When he got walked back into the room, he noticed Francis looking outside his window. He walked over to him and asked what he was looking at.

"The moon _mon-cher_. However it is more beautiful to look at with someone special." Francis pulled Arthur into a brief, but passionate, kiss. "It's time for us to go to bed." Arthur followed Francis in bed and snuggled next to him. Listening to Francis's heartbeat he quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Arthur woke up in the morning, and he thought he was still dreaming. After he realized he wasn't dreaming, he just laid there without waking Francis, enjoying the peace. His peace didn't last long when there was a knock on the door.

"Francis open up. It's Matthew." Arthur started to panic as Francis woke up and asked what was going on.

"Matthew is at the door. What are we going to do?"

"Relax. Just hide your face and Matthew will just assume he missed me bringing someone home." Francis got up and went to the door. "What is it Matthew?"

"Not much. Mom and Dad want to meet us later so I thought I would let you know." Matthew looked inside the room before speaking again. "You should probably sneak Arthur out before it gets too late."

Arthur froze in the bed wondering how Matthew knew it was him. "How did you know that," Francis asked most likely wondering the same thing as Arthur.

Matthew just shrugged and said, "You got all of your clothes on. The only person that would be in your bed and not a one night stand would be Arthur. See ya later."

Francis closed the door and said, "That's odd. I don't remember telling Matthew about you."

"That's irrelevant. Right now we should probably follow his advice and get me out of here." Francis nodded and gave Arthur some new clothes.

"We'll go out the back entrance and go to the garage. I'll drive you home from there." After they both changed Francis checked outside to make sure nobody was looking. Once the coast was clear they headed towards the back door.

Once they got the garage Francis got in the nearest car and was followed by Arthur. As soon as they got out of the garage Arthur ducked his head so he wouldn't be recognized. They stopped a block away from the Kirkland estate and Francis parked the car.

"We should probably make another date to see each other again to avoid another fiasco again," said Arthur wanting to make sure he would see Francis soon.

"I actually like the spontaneous visit. But if you want to make a solid date we can meet on the camping trip that Antonio planned for tomorrow."

"That would be great." They said their final goodbyes and Arthur started walking toward his home. "I wonder if anybody missed me," he thought. He started running hoping he wouldn't get into too much trouble.

When he got home he ran into Alfred. "Oh good you're finally home. Our parents want to talk with you and I didn't know how much longer I could have stalled for time."

His parents were wondering if he got close to anyone important. He told them that he got close to a few people and was invited to go on a camping trip with Antonio.

"Alfred was invited to the same thing as well by the other Bonnefoy boy. Let him know that the both of you will go to this camping trip and get close to as many important people as possible."

Arthur almost at his own slyness and told them that he would. He later found it odd that, even though Alfred and Matthew only met once, Matthew invited Alfred to the camping trip.

**A/N: The song that Francis sings is called ****Ne me quitte pas by ****Jacques Brel. The lyrics in this song mean: I offer you pearls of rain coming from the lands where it never rains I will cross the world till after my death. It's a very beautiful French love song and you should all listen to it.**** Happy early Fourth of July a.k.a. America's birthday! In case you're wondering how I'm going to celebrate my first Fourth of July as a Hetalia fan; I'm going to wear my America dog tag and make Hetalia references that only my siblings would get. Review and tell me how you like the story so far and/or improvements I could make to my writing. **


	8. Chapter 8

Alfred caught Arthur in the middle of packing survival and started laughing at him. "This isn't some boy scout trip in the middle of nowhere. We're spending a week on a private camping ground. The only thing you'll need to bring is some change of clothes. Yeesh you really are an idiot." Arthur just threw a canteen at Alfred's head and started to pack some clothes.

A few seconds later, Peter came bursting into his room all excited about what he heard. "You're going on a camping trip! I want to go too," the small boy pleaded to his older brothers. Arthur and Alfred both answered with a loud no then proceeded to argue with Peter why he couldn't come.

Curious for what all the noise was for, Richard showed up. Seeing Richard, Peter decided to get his help. "Tell Alfred and Arthur to let me go on the camping trip. They're being really mean and won't let me go." Peter gave Richard the puppy dog face, willing to do anything to go on the trip.

Knowing that Richard was close to caving in they tried convincing him why he couldn't come. However, Richard gave in and Peter was allowed to go on the trip. Peter was ecstatic, and he was so busy jumping around with excitement that his brothers had to pack his clothes for him.

When it came time to go to bed, he couldn't fall asleep. So instead of being a good boy and stay in his room he decided to wake up Arthur to talk about the camping trip.

After waking up Arthur, he started rapidly asking questions. "How many people are going? Will there be any kids? What are we going to do?" Arthur was still too drowsy to answer any of the questions. He tried to get Peter back to bed, but it was all in vain. Oblivious to the fact that his presence was unwanted, Peter kept on talking.

Eventually he noticed that Arthur had fallen asleep on him. Deciding that a sleeping person wasn't that fun to talk to he went toward Alfred's room. Finding the door locked, he slinked back to his room. He finally fell asleep thinking of all the fun he was going to have tomorrow.

* * *

Arthur woke up in the morning to Alfred shaking his shoulder. "Hey dude. Matthew just called me and said they were going to pick us up in an hour. He also told me to let you know that Michelle is coming as well."

Arthur groaned inwardly when he found out that Michelle would be coming to the trip. "That's fantastic. Let's just make the trip awkward." He sighed then got out of bed. He had been hoping that he would have been able to spend the entire time with Francis. Now he would have to worry about letting Michelle know that he was no longer going to marry her, and he was going out with her brother.

While he waited for them to pick up he paced back and forth trying to figure out what he was going to say to Michelle. "You should really stop worrying so much everything is going to be ok," said Alfred after Arthur's pacing got really annoying.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Well excuse me. I guess I really should stop worrying about what I'm going to tell Michelle when I break off our engagement," he said sarcastically.

"What! You're going to break up Michelle. Why would you do that? She's such a nice person," said Peter, showing his concern and confusion.

Arthur swore. He had forgotten that Peter didn't know about him breaking off the engagement. "You wouldn't know why because you're too young. Just don't tell mom and dad," he said concerned about his parents finding out.

"I'm not a little kid! I'll understand," Peter said while pouting.

Before Arthur could disagree again he was interrupted by Alfred. "It's because he's madly in love with Francis. So they're going to elope and live in the Alps as goat herders."

Peter bought everything Alfred said hook line and sinker. "W-why would you go to the Alps and leave us all alone! Don't you love us too," Peter managed to say while tears ran down his face.

Arthur looked at Alfred like he was going to kill him but decided on comforting Peter instead. "I'm not going to elope with Francis to the Alps. Alfred just told you that to freak you out."

Peter sniffled and dried his tears. "Why would he say you're eloping with Francis?"

Arthur blushed slightly as he said, "You could say that we're dating."

Peter just smiled and said, "As long as you're happy. That's all that matters right!"

Arthur mumbled, "Yeah." He didn't want to tell Peter that there was a bigger issue that tried to govern his love life. Peter didn't notice Arthur's uncertainty and went back to his own cheery self.

It wasn't long before their ride showed up. Arthur went in the passenger seat next to Francis while Alfred sat in the back beside Matthew with Peter on his lap. Francis leaned over and kissed Arthur on the cheek causing him to blush. "Do you really have to do that in front of everybody else?"

Francis lifted an eyebrow and replied, "If we didn't have an audience I would have done a lot more." This caused Arthur to wander off and think of what more Francis could have done to him wishing they were alone. Arthur's thoughts of what to do with Francis later were interrupted by Peter.

"You guys better not do anything pervy in front of me. I'm still a kid so don't ruin my innocence just yet," said Peter while he crossed his arms.

Francis smiled and replied, "I promise I won't do anything pervy to Arthur in front of you. I can't promise that everybody else at the camping trip won't do anything."

"That's okay. It's different for you and Arthur because I can't imagine anybody wanting to do pervy things with him so it's gross to me." Francis laughed as he turned the car on.

Thinking this was the best time to apologize to Michelle Arthur turned around, but before he could say anything she interrupted him. "I'm so glad that you and my brother are dating. No offense or anything, but I just didn't want to really marry you. You're a great guy and all, but just not my type."

Arthur was shocked for a few moments before he responded. "I'm happy to hear that you think that way. I was worried that you would get sad about me not wanting to marry you." He was truly relieved. Although he didn't want to marry Michelle she was still a nice girl and he didn't want to see her upset.

Arthur spent half of the trip wondering why Alfred and Matthew were so close and the other half stopping Francis from groping him every time Peter stopped looking at them. He was relieved when they finally got to their destination. He was starting to get tempted to let Francis do whatever he wanted to him even if it was in front of an audience.

When he got out of the car he saw a familiar face. "Hey! Kiku! I didn't know you were going to be here," Arthur shouted. Kiku turned around and saw Arthur and started walking towards him to avoid shouting.

"I wasn't aware that you were going to be here as well."

"Francis invited me along so I couldn't say no." Kiku got a confused look on his face.

"Why would Francis invite you to the camping trip? You told me that he hated you." It was that moment that Francis decided to interrupt them.

"It was a big misunderstanding between us. We actually love each other. Isn't that right _mon-cher_," said Francis and kissed Arthur on the head.

Arthur just nodded and hoped that Kiku didn't think it was weird that he was now dating someone that he was trying to avoid earlier.

"It's good that you got over that misunderstanding because you seem to be a lot happier now. May I ask what your parents thought about you dating Francis?"

"They don't know yet," Arthur said in a guilty tone of voice. Kiku just sighed but didn't prod any further not wanting to be rude.

"Just so you know, if you need anything I will always be here for you."

Arthur smiled at Kiku and thanked him. After that Kiku apologized and said there was somewhere else he had to be. When he went to get his bag out of the car he noticed that Alfred and Matthew were missing. Curious as to where they could have gone he looked for them. Just as he was about to give he found them kissing.

Arthur backed away slowly and quietly so he wouldn't interrupt them. When he got back the car he announced, "I finally found out who Alfred was dating!"

"Who is it," asked Peter curious to know who his brother was dating.

"It's Matthew," said Francis stealing Arthur's words.

"How did you know," asked Arthur. He was sure that he discovered something new.

"Matthew told me yesterday after I dropped you off at your place."

Resigning to the fact that he hadn't discovered anything new, he still had questions. "How did they keep this secret for so long?"

Francis shrugged. "They're both good at keeping secrets. What I want to know is how far they got. If Matthew inherited any of my skills they probably already had sex."

Arthur was mortified at the thought. His little baby brother lost his virginity and didn't even tell him. If this was true they were going to have a serious talk later about telling each other important things.

Francis chuckled at the look on Arthur's face. "Come on. We better catch up to everybody else and see what they're doing." Francis grabbed Arthur's hand and led him towards where everyone else was heading.

Antonio saw them and waved to them with a big smile on his face. "_Hola mis amigos_! We were about to go hiking. You're tent is over there," he said while pointing towards which tent was theirs.

Going into the tent, Arthur saw that they wouldn't be the only ones in the tent. He was surprised to find himself a tiny bit disappointed. He had been secretly been hoping they would have a tent to themselves.

"It seems like we won't be able to do any naughty things," said Francis unknowingly voicing Arthur's thoughts. Francis sighed and put down his stuff. "I even brought condoms and lube with me."

Arthur blushed and hit Francis. "What makes you think that I would do those kinds of things with you!"

Francis pulled Arthur into a hug and purred into his ear, "Because you love me."

"We should probably go meet everybody else to see what they are doing," said Arthur. Francis kissed him on the cheek before letting him go. After all he could wait a little bit longer.

When they got outside they saw that Antonio was waiting for them. "Most people went on the main trail. Some people went on the smaller trails so you can do whatever you'd rather do," he said.

Francis thanked him and pulled Arthur towards a smaller trail.

"Why don't we go with everybody else? I wanted to see who all was here," said Arthur.

"We can do that later. Right now we should spend some time together." Arthur just nodded and followed Francis onto the trail. As they walked they chatted about random things. After a while Francis stopped in the middle of the trail.

"Why did you stop?" Arthur got his answer as Francis pushed him against a tree and kissed him. He eventually overcame his initial shock and kissed him back. He tentatively opened his mouth wanting more. Francis complied by slipping his tongue into Arthur's mouth.

Arthur could tell of Francis's skill from the beginning. He was beginning to wish that they could have gotten alone a lot earlier. They had to eventually break off the kiss in need of air. Arthur went for Francis's neck and started making a hickey.

"I was under the impression that you weren't capable of these kinds of things," Francis said with some amusement in his voice.

"Just because I don't do this in front of people doesn't mean I can't do it. I just have more sense to keep my love life private."

"But how else would I let the whole world know you're mine."

Arthur replied in a small voice, "That's the problem we can't tell the whole world we love each other. We're not supposed to love each other." Francis's words had reminded Arthur of their inability to show their love.

As if he was reading his thoughts Francis said, "I don't care if the world says we can't be together. I'm going to be with you and show the world how much I love you. Starting with your parents." Arthur looked up with a scared expression on his face.

"No! You can't do that. I wouldn't know how my parents would react and even if they won't hurt you they could still ruin you. Promise me won't do anything drastic like that!"

"I won't _mon-cher_," said Francis while stroking Francis's head. "We should head back it's getting late." Arthur nodded and held onto Francis's hand not willing to let it go.

* * *

When they got back to the camp ground, everybody was already there. Looking around Arthur noticed that he knew most of the people there. Everybody from the party was there along with Vash and his little sister Lili. The only people he didn't recognize were two people that were hanging around with Kiku. He turned towards Francis and asked, "Who are those two people with Kiku?"

"The one with the mask is Sadiq and the other one is Heracles. Although they both hate each other they both happen to be friends with Kiku. I think Kiku invited them here so they could maybe get over their differences and stop fighting."

Arthur glanced over them and saw Kiku's plan was working very well. They were arguing with Kiku in the middle looking like he was trying to stop them. Arthur looked around the group to see where Peter and Alfred went to. Eventually he spotted Peter playing with Lili and Alfred snuggling with Matthew.

Francis and Arthur joined everyone else and helped get dinner ready. At first Arthur thought he would help with the cooking but was rejected when Peter and Alfred started complaining. In the end he sat in front of the fire watching Francis cook.

Noticing that Matthew was all by himself, he decided to go talk to him. "How did you meet my brother?" Matthew acted surprised like he wasn't expecting anybody to notice him.

"We met by accident at a café. Back then we didn't know we were from conflicting families so we kept hanging out with each other. By the time we found out our families might not approve of us dating we didn't care anymore. I'm sorry that we kept it a secret from you for so long, but Alfred wanted to tell you at the right time."

"What are you talking about? The reason I knew you guys were dating is because I saw you guys kissing earlier."

"I-I'm sorry! I told Alfred to tell you that we were dating but he must have forgotten. If I would have known I would have told you myself," said Matthew looking very apologetic.

"That's alright. It's not like it was your fault. I'm just glad to find out that he's dating someone as nice as you. I was worried that he was dating someone that would take advantage of him."

"T-thank you," Matthew said while blushing. Seeing Alfred, Matthew excused himself most likely to scold Alfred. Seeing that dinner was ready, Arthur grabbed a plate and sat next to Francis.

"So you want to tell me why Alfred and Peter were so against you cooking," Francis asked with a playful tone.

"The cooks were off for the night so I tried cooking myself something to eat. I ended up burning down the kitchen so they've tried to stop me from cooking anything else since then."

Francis laughed and said, "Well it's a good thing I can cook no? So at least we won't starve to death when we elope to the Alps and become goat herders."

Arthur glared at Francis and said, "You've been talking to Alfred haven't you. I'll advice you not to believe a single word he says."

Everybody was eating around the fire and chatting with each other. Arthur amused himself by watching Elizabeta try and get Vash and Roderich together. It reminded him of the time she was doing the same thing for him and Francis.

After everybody was done eating Gilbert decided it would be fun to tell ghost stories. To Arthur they were really cheesy but Alfred was so scared he was cowering behind Matthew. Arthur began to feel a little drowsy so he rested his head on Francis's shoulder. The heat from the fire and Francis drawing circles on the back of his hand lulled him to sleep.

* * *

"Sshhh! Arthur is sleeping," said a soft feminine voice.

"We should draw on him and stuff like that till he wakes up," another voice cackled.

"_Non_. He's cute when he's sleeping."

When Arthur opened his eyes he saw Gilbert, Francis and Elizabeta looking at him. Looking around he noticed that he wasn't outside anymore. "What am I doing in the tent," he asked sleepily.

"You dozed of outside so we carried you in here so you could sleep. Sorry if we woke you up," said Elizabeta then punched Gilbert blaming him for waking Arthur up.

"Just go back to sleep _mon-cher_," said Francis while smoothing Arthur's bed head.

"Only if you sleep with me," Arthur said already half asleep. Francis complied and held Arthur close to him. While listening to Francis's heartbeat, he fell asleep again.

* * *

When Arthur woke up he noticed that Francis was gone. "He could have at least woke me up," Arthur mumbled. He was about to leave the tent when he heard his name mentioned. Wondering why someone was talking about him he decided to listen in.

"It won't be that easy. His parents aren't the type to forgive so easily. I'm surprised they even created a truce between our families even if it was for them to further themselves." He recognized the voice as Francis's. Wondering who he was talking to he decided to eavesdrop a little longer.

"That's what you keep on saying but who says they'll even be against him dating you," said Ludwig.

"I don't think our parents are okay with gays. They might not like having a son who's gay. I think I should tell my parents that I'm dating Matthew to see their reaction before we let them know they are dating. I think they'll be more lenient to me," Alfred said in a surprisingly serious voice.

"I'll tell my parents as well. I've been waiting to tell them anyways," said Matthew. Arthur decided that he should come out of the tent now. When he got out he noticed that everybody was sitting around the fire all discussing how to keep him and Francis together. If he had been more emotional he might have cried right then.

"So you thought you could get away with talking about this without me." Everyone turned around to him, surprised that he was awake. He sat down next to Francis and continued to talk, "I approve of your little plan with one extra detail. We're going to talk to Richard to make a safe haven in case mom and dad respond badly."

"I'll be fi-," Alfred started to say before he was cut off by Arthur.

"If our parents don't like the idea of you being gay you'll need some place to get away from their fury. Trust me." Alfred just nodded not knowing what else to say. Arthur then turned to address everyone else, "Thanks for trying to help, but you don't have to."

"But we want to help. You're the first person that Francis has seriously dated," said Antonio.

"Ve~! And you're our friend so we want to help you," said Feliciano with a chorus of nods agreeing with him.

Arthur didn't know what else to say so he simply said. "Thanks. All of you."

**A/N: Nothing else to say other than please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

They rest of the camping trip was pure bliss to Arthur. He spent his time hanging out with his newfound friends and having private moments with Francis. The worst thing that happened was Peter stumbling on Francis and Arthur during one of their alone times and running away claiming his innocence was ruined. And being woken up every morning to the flash of Elizabeta's camera.

It was only when it started to get dark on the last day that they left with promises of coming to the next camping trip.

On the way back Arthur mostly just slept on Francis' shoulder with Peter sleeping on his lap.

They stopped a block before the Kirkland estate so they could goodbye to each other. When Arthur and Francis started kissing, Peter covered his eyes and exclaimed that they should stop corrupting him.

Once they were dropped off, Arthur immediately started looking for Richard. He eventually found him outside in the garden.

"I need to talk to you, but somewhere nobody can hear us."

Richard looked around and said, "Nobody's out here to hear us talk."

Arthur lowered his voice anyway and said, "Alfred's going to tell our parents he's dating Matthew so we need some place for him to escape to incase things go bad."

Richard thought for a while before he spoke again. "If you give me a week I can get everything ready. May I ask why he suddenly chose to do this now?"

Arthur looked guilty before he answered, "He's doing this because we want to gauge our parent's reactions before I tell them I'm not going to marry Michelle because I'm dating Francis."

Richard nodded and replied, "That's very brave of him. I'm glad to hear you and Francis are doing well."

Arthur blushed slightly. "Thanks. For everything. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't know how we would get along."

"It's nothing. I think of you like my own children," Richard said while patting Arthur on the head affectionately.

"You're a better parent then my real parents," Arthur said meaning every word of it.

* * *

While waiting for the week to be up, both Alfred and Arthur were anxious. Alfred because he was coming out to his parents, and Arthur because he was worried about what would happen to his brother.

So in order to pass the time they spent as much time as possible away from home. They started hanging out with friends they made during the camping trip.

The only issue was that they couldn't hang out with Francis and Matthew alone without arousing their parent's suspicions. Eventually the week was crawling to an end.

It was the last day before Richard's week was up when Arthur got a call from Francis.

"Can you come to my house? My parents are out for a couple of days so we can be alone."

Arthur accepted in a heartbeat. He would have left that second, but his parents were still home. It wasn't until night that his parents finally left leaving him free to go to visit Francis.

He told Alfred where he was going, got into a car and drove towards Francis's place.

As soon as he got out of the car, Francis was there to pull him in a big hug. "W-What if someone sees us," stuttered Arthur.

"I don't care. It's all going to be over tomorrow anyways." Francis smiled and pulled on Arthur's hand. "If it really bugs you we can go to my room. No one is likely to see us there."

Arthur followed Francis to his room. Seeing Matthew, he stopped to wave hi, but was pulled along by Francis.

"Why are you so anxious," Arthur asked as the door closed behind them. Francis pulled him into another hug before answering his question.

"It's because I want to show how much I love you as soon as possible."

Arthur detected the lie in Francis's voice and called him out on it. "Liar. You're worried that tomorrow won't work out. Admit it."

Instead of answering, Francis kissed him. "You really are worried idiot," Arthur thought. Francis broke the kiss and sat on his bed.

"Want to watch a movie like we did last time? Or we could watch TV."

Arthur joined him on the bed and said with a slight blush on his face, "I was thinking about doing something else entirely."

Francis was about to ask what but was interrupted when Arthur climbed on his lap and kissing him. Arthur opened his mouth to let Francis in and added his own tongue. When they pulled back for air Francis was smirking at him. "You could have just told me you wanted to make out."

"That's not what I want to do either," Arthur said in a small voice.

"And what is it exactly that you wanted to do," asked Francis with a tone that said he already knew what Arthur wanted.

"Do I have to say it," Arthur said with a glare. Francis just smirked, saying no more.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I want to have sex."

"So unromantic. Try making love next time." Francis turned Arthur around so that he was under him and kissed him on the neck. "Why so needy now. Before at the camping trip you didn't want to do it at all?"

"That's because this might be the last time we can see each for a long time." Although Arthur didn't want to admit it, he had the same fears as Francis had about tomorrow.

"Don't worry. Even if tomorrow doesn't work out I will still be with you."

Instead of answering him back, Arthur pulled Francis into a kiss hoping they would continue with their earlier actions. Francis smiled and deepened the kiss and started grinding their hips together. Arthur moaned and started taking Francis' shirt off.

Francis broke the kiss to unbutton Arthur's shirt and start teasing a nipple with his teeth. His hand traveled further down Arthur's body and he grabbed his erection causing Arthur to cover his mouth to muffle his moan. Francis unzipped Arthur's pants and threw them across the room where they landed in a heap.

"You don't have to be so quiet. Nobody is going to care if you're noisy." Arthur couldn't help but moan as Francis started giving him a blowjob. Francis then stopped, getting a whine of displeasure from Arthur at the loss of contact.

"Don't fret _mon cher_. I'm just getting the lube." Francis stretched over to get it out of the bed stand while the impatient Arthur took off his pants. Francis coated his fingers before entering the first digit into Arthur.

Arthur automatically tensed up as the first finger entered him, but he slowly relaxed so it wouldn't hurt as much.

Francis noticed this and said with a playful tone, "So you do have experience in this field."

Arthur blushed while he admitted, "You're not the first guy I've done it with."

"Good. That's means you I don't have to worry about warning you about tomorrow."

Francis entered the second finger while scissoring them to make room for the third. Once he felt that Arthur was amply stretched he pulled his fingers out. "You ready?"

"Just fuck me already," Arthur growled. Francis smirked as he slowly pushed himself into Arthur so he would get used to his size. Once Arthur nodded that it was okay to continue Francis started thrusting into Arthur. Slowly at first, then going faster at the urgings of Arthur. Arthur was sure the sounds he was making could be heard throughout the entire mansion as Francis continued to hit his prostate. Francis pulled Arthur into a messy kiss before they both released spreading come everywhere.

"So how did I do," asked Francis fully knowing that he did a good job.

"Not…that…bad," Arthur managed to say in between pants. Francis just smiled and pulled Arthur towards him.

"Go to sleep. We'll clean up tomorrow." Even though Arthur wasn't thrilled about sleeping with cum all over him, he curled up next to Francis.

* * *

When Arthur woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was Francis sleeping next to him. The second thing he noticed was the pain in his hips. Arthur stirred at the pain waking up Francis.

"Awake _mon amour_," Francis asked before kissing Arthur on the lips.

"My hips hurt," Arthur complained. Francis laughed. "I thought you told me you slept with men before. Does this mean I was more skillful than the others," said Francis with a mocking smile on his face.

"Shut up git," Arthur said while snuggling close to Francis showing he really didn't mean it. They both laid there before Francis broke the silence.

"We should get cleaned."

Arthur nodded and followed Francis into the bathroom. At first Arthur was against having Francis taking a shower with him, but eventually gave in. Francis gave Arthur some of his clothes and after they were dressed he was starting to look a little sad.

Francis hugged Arthur from behind and kissed him on the head. "What's the matter _cher_? You look a little sad."

"It's just that I'm worried about what's going to happen to Alfred and Matthew."

"Don't worry about Matthew. I've been with guys before so our parents are used to it. I'm sure that Alfred is going to be alright as well. You should stop worrying as much."

Arthur sighed. "I hope your right." They would have spent more time together but Arthur wanted to be with Alfred because he knew he was going through a lot. As he walked to his car he saw Matthew and wished him luck.

As he drove home a million thoughts were running through his head that he almost crashed on the way back. When he pulled up to the garage, Richard was there to pull him to the side.

"I have everything arranged so Alfred can escape if need be." Arthur nodded and started to walk inside when Richard called him back.

"I was going to ask where you were last night but your limp answered my questions," Richard said with amused look. Arthur's face became a bright red. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but then closed his mouth as he decided against it.

He turned around and started walking back towards the house in hope of saving some of his dignity. As he heard Richard laughing in the background he mumbled, "Why does he have to notice everything?"

**A/N: Sorry if that sex scene was an epic fail. I'm not used to writing smut so be kind to me. I would also like to thank that anonymous reviewer for letting me know some people enjoy reading my story. Any suggestions of how I could improve would be wonderful! So review please!**


	10. Chapter 10

The house was silent, almost as if it was preparing itself for what would happen in a few moments. Alfred was pacing back and forth with a worried expression on his face. Arthur placed his hand on his shoulder to try and reassure him. It was all in vain though because Alfred could see that Arthur was just as nervous as he was.

Their parents got home around dinner time, but they both agreed to wait until after dinner to tell them. After dinner eventually evolved until Peter was asleep. At the rate Alfred was going it would get postponed till tomorrow.

"Alfred. We know you're there. If you need to talk to us you better do it quick." Both Alfred and Arthur jumped at the sound of their father's voice. Alfred grabbed the door knob, swallowing nervously.

Knowing he had to say something to Alfred, Arthur said, "Don't worry. Aren't you always telling me that heroes always win?" Alfred smiled weakly at Arthur before he turned the door knob and walked into their parent's bedroom.

Arthur knew that it wasn't polite to eavesdrop, but he was concerned about Alfred.

"I have something I would like to talk about." Arthur noticed how Alfred's voice barely wavered. He felt proud of how tough his little brother was.

"What is it," his mother asked in a deceivingly innocent voice.

"It's about my love life."

"What a coincidence. We were planning on talking to you about this as well. We have many eligible suit-." His father was cut off by Alfred.

"I'm already dating somebody else!" For a moment there was silence and Arthur could just imagine his parents stunned reactions at Alfred's words.

"Did you meet somebody on that camping trip or that party you went on? What family does this lady belong to?" Arthur was disgusted at the excitement that he could hear in his parent's voices. Even when they were supposed to be talking about their son, they only thing they could think about were themselves.

"I'm dating Matthew! And in case you forgotten already _he_ is a member of the Bonnefoy family!" More than anything Arthur wished he could be standing in that room right now. He wanted to see how Alfred would have stood tall, proud of himself, and his parents reaction.

"What did you say?" This was going to be the most difficult part for Alfred. Their parents would try and convince him out of being with Matthew to regain 'control' over him.

"I'm gay and dating Matthew Bonnefoy!" The silence in the room was deafening. Arthur was listening so intently that the slap sounded deafening.

"Don't use that tone with me! Now listen to me. You will break up him and choose one of the many _female_ suitors that we've picked out for you," Arthur heard his father say.

"I won't do it!"

"Try and see reason. Dating another male is unnatural and wrong. Anyways, we have many nice girls for you to pick from. I'm sure one of them is better than Matthew," his mother said sweetly.

"Is it that much of a problem that I like guys and not girls? I won't get married to a girl even if I get to choose her or not!"

"If you continue to defy us like this you we will disinherit you!" _Or worse_ was the unspoken threat at the end of his father's threat.

"I don't care what you do to me! I'm not listening to you anymore!" Alfred exited the room and started running.

"Don't every come back here," his father yelled completing his threat by smashing a bottle on a nearby wall.

Arthur started running after Alfred and eventually caught up with him. "We need to get your stuff together." Alfred just nodded as they started walking towards his room. They were gathering his bags when Alfred's phone rang.

"What's the matter Matthew? Hold on! Slow down and speak slowly. They know about them? Don't worry we can handle ourselves." Alfred closed the phone and looked at Arthur with worry on his face.

"What happened," Arthur asked slowly getting really worried.

"When Matthew came out to his parents they weren't too happy about it. So Francis started arguing for him and accidently let it slip that he was dating you. Since this puts a hole in the marriage plan they were going to call our parents and discuss it."

Arthur felt his blood freeze. His parents would figure out that he was dating Francis. He could only think about the terrible things that his dad was going to do to him once he figured out.

"You're going with him." They both turned around to see Richard standing in the doorway. "I've prepared for this possibility and I already have your things in the car."

"What about Peter?" Arthur panicked at the thought of Peter being all alone with his parents and their rage.

"I took Peter down to the car the moment I heard the yelling just in case. We better hurry up before your parents catch on and try to stop us." They both followed Richard silently but that was not necessary as they started to hear their father swear.

"He thinks he can fucking date some boy when he is engaged to Michelle!" They heard their father footsteps and him announcing to the world, "When I get my hands on him he won't be able to disobey us any longer!"

Arthur felt his heart skip a beat, grateful that Richard suggested that he leave with Alfred. Deciding that secrecy was no longer an issue, they started running towards the car parked outside.

Alfred went in the back while Arthur got in the passenger's seat. Richard followed quickly after, getting in the driver's seat. Once in the car Richard started pulling out of the driveway and headed away from the Kirkland estate.

"Are we finally leaving?"

Arthur turned around to look at Peter. He had expected to see Peter a little confused about why they were leaving. Instead, it seemed that he knew why they were leaving and was glad about it. Arthur nodded a little stunned at how mature Peter had gotten.

Peter smiled then settled down in his seat and closed his eyes. "Wake me up when we get there."

Arthur started thinking about Francis, and that they should let him and Matthew know they were okay and check up on them.

"Can we drop by the Bonnefoy estate? Just to let them know we're okay," said Alfred voicing Arthur's thoughts.

Richard smiled and said, "I thought you would ask that. I'm already heading there and we should be there in a few moments." True to his word it wasn't long until they arrived at the Bonnefoy estate.

Francis and Matthew were already running towards the car before Alfred and Arthur even got out. "_Êtes-vous ça va_," Francis and Matthew both asked at the same time.

Alfred and Arthur's responses were cut off by the crushing hugs that they both received. "Don't I get a hug or something," said Peter while pouting.

"Of course," said Francis before he let go of Arthur to scoop Peter in a big hug.

"Could I get a hug from someone other than the pervert that kisses my brother," whined Peter while playfully punching Francis. Arthur smiled at this scene temporally forgetting about their situation.

"How is it on your end," asked Alfred, mainly directing his question to Matthew.

"Our parents are fine with it as long as we keep it a secret. They said something about not wanting other families to think we're improper," said Matthew looking like he was on the verge of tears.

Arthur looked at Francis for answers. "Our family is worried that other families will look down on us if we have another family member that has 'wild' dating habits. That's why they agreed to the marriage between you and Michelle, to contradict my reputation."

"Our parents are strict just like yours. Instead of using us to further their gain, instead they use us to improve their image in society," said Michelle as she finally arrived on the scene.

"It seems like all of us have crappy circumstances with our parents," said Arthur.

"Why don't you guys come with us? We could all live together like some big family that has tendencies to date each other," said Peter with the hugest grin on his face.

Arthur was about to tell him how ridiculous that plan was when he was interrupted by Richard. "I did make preparations if this was the case." He handed Francis a slip of paper and continued his instructions. "This is the address of the place I set up for everyone to live in. Pack what's necessary and inform your parents of your decision and then come there. Of course, that is only if you want to."

Francis, Matthew, and Michelle needed no convincing to agree to this plan. They always wanted to escape their parent's clutches. Of course being able to live with their boyfriends was an added bonus. They all eventually departed with promises to see each other soon.

* * *

Getting to the place that would be their new home, they saw it was larger than most normal homes, but smaller than their last. None of them cared because to them it was perfect. It had a certain charm to it, and seemed to radiate warmth which was different from their cold mansion.

It wasn't long before Francis, Matthew and Michelle showed up. When their parents first learned about the plan, they tried to persuade them against it. However, they stayed firm with their decision, despite their parent's arguments.

Their parent's final attempt in swaying them to leave was the threat of disowning them. This didn't sway them, and they left after saying goodbyes.

* * *

After the first hectic day of their new freedom, Francis and Arthur were sitting outside on the porch.

"So I guess you could call this our happy ending," Arthur said while sipping on his tea.

"_Non, mon cher. _It's only the beginning."

**A/N: Êtes-vous ça va means are you okay referring to a group. This story is nearing the end with only the epilogue left. Please review!**


	11. Epilogue

Getting adjusted to their new lives was somewhat of a challenge. First there was the money problem. Richard saved up enough to keep them going for a while, but eventually it would run out. To solve this problem, Richard got a new job along with Francis, Michelle, and Arthur.

Francis got a job as a cook at a nearby restaurant that served international food. Arthur managed to find himself a job at a bookstore, where he could read all the books he wanted when the shop wasn't busy. Michelle worked at a flower shop where she could put her skill of taking care of flowers to use.

Since Richard couldn't return to his old job, he got a new one at a daycare center. Alfred would have also gotten a job himself, but Arthur insisted that he finish school first.

With their four jobs they were almost able to live just like before with one of the key differences being no servants. They also started saving up money so eventually they could live in their own houses once they got old enough. They started doing this to try and avoid a problem that cropped up.

Francis and Arthur would forget that other people lived in the house sometimes in the heat of the moment. They would start with making out on the couch (or kitchen). This would eventually evolve into sex which was most of the time interrupted.

Peter stared complaining that Matthew and Alfred didn't do naughty things in the middle of the house. He stopped saying that after he caught them dry humping each other on the couch.

After living in the house for a month, Peter could claim he knew more about sex than any other kid his age.

Of course they had to deal with their parents trying to make them come back. Francis' parents tried to apologize and lure them back with promises of letting them do what they wanted. Needless to say, all three of the children refused these offers.

Francis' parents also tried to offer them money to help them, but they were refused. They eventually settled with seeing their children every once in a while, and removed their threat of disowning them.

Arthur's parents were a different story. They focused just on getting Peter back, convinced that their other two sons were traitors and that they didn't want them back even if they begged. When all their attempts failed, they cut off all ties with their sons and had them disowned.

Other than that, their new life was perfect. They were able to live life without restrictions from their controlling parents. They spent time with the ones they loved without having to hide it. Overall their new life was happy.

* * *

**1 Year Later:**

Arthur peeked through to the door to see the throngs of people outside. He gulped nervously and fidgeted in place.

"You look like someone who's about to be hanged, not get married."

Arthur turned around and saw Richard standing behind him. "I'm just nervous that's all. It is a big day."

"Then smile and enjoy your big day." Arthur just nodded and looked outside the door, scanning the crowd and sighed in disappointment when he didn't see who he was looking for.

Richard noticed this and said, "It might be for the best that they didn't come."

"I know. I just hoped they might want to see their son married. At least Francis' parents are here."

Richard slipped his arm through the crook of Arthur's arm. "It's time to go." The door opened and they walked forward, down the aisle. Arthur looked at Francis and started feeling a little giddy. It was his wedding day, so he should be happy.

Arthur took his place beside Francis and only half listened to the priest. He remembered saying his vows, saying I do, and kissing Francis. The rest of the ceremony was a blur, muddled by his nerves.

What he did remember was when he started walking back down the aisle with Francis, seeing his parents.

It was just a glimpse of them walking away while everyone else was standing and clapping. Seeing his parents made him happier. He was under the impression that his parents hated his guts, but seeing them disproved his theory.

The reception was a blast. Lots of drinking, dancing, and being with friends. When Francis and Arthur cut the cake they both then shoved their slice of cake in each others faces.

Francis insisted that Arthur throw a bouquet like brides usually did since he was the girl of the relationship. Arthur reluctantly did and it was caught by a very embarrassed Matthew.

Alfred must have taken it for a sign, because he proposed to him right there and then, with a ring and everything. When Arthur asked him about it later, apparently he had wanted to pop the question for a while now, and couldn't find the right time to do it.

Arthur opened one gift on the fact that Elizabeta wanted to see his face when he opened it. He should have seen it coming. Inside was a bunch of costumes that Elizabeta said was for the honeymoon.

Arthur blushed while Francis thanked Elizabeta and judging from the expression on his face, already had ideas of how to use them.

It was later in the party, when he was looking for Francis, that he saw Francis talking with his parents. Wondering what they were talking about, Arthur sneaked to where he could listen in.

"Why are you giving this to us?"

"We feel guilty for what he did to our sons. We know that no matter what we do, it's still too late, and we'll always be crappy parents. We're planning on helping out the other two in different ways as well. Goodbye Francis." With Arthur's mother's final words, his parents turned around and walked out.

Arthur walked over to Francis and put his arms around his waist. "So what did they want?"

"They're trying to make amends for all the horrible things they did to you. So they gave me the deed for our new house." Francis showed Arthur the envelope containing said deed.

"I'm actually surprised that they came at all. I thought they wouldn't want to see any of us ever again Arthur snorted and continued speaking. "I guess it didn't surprise me that they didn't say hi to anyone else."

Arthur looked around for Richard to tell him about his parents when he saw him talking to a woman. Seeing that it looked like Richard was enjoying himself, he decided he would talk to him when he wasn't busy.

Francis grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the dance floor. "Come on! Let's go dancing."

Arthur squeezed Francis' hands and followed his new husband to dance the night away.

* * *

When they got back to their hotel room Arthur was slightly drunk, leaning on Francis for support. Francis laid him down on the bed and shortly joined him and hugged him close.

"So which outfit do you want to try tonight?" Francis asked with a lecherous grin on his face.

"I thought you were against doing stuff like this when I'm drunk," Arthur slurred.

"This is an exception. I highly doubt I'll be able to get you in one of those outfits when you're sober."

Arthur nodded in agreement and cuddled closer to Francis. "Can't you wait till the honeymoon?"

"Nope."

"Horny bastard."

**A/N: This signifies the end of my first lengthy story. I would like to thank everyone reading till the end and Moongirl12121 for being my beta! I plan on writing more stories soon, so look out for me!**


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